The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-02-09
4 STRANGE DOCUMENT.

:, Letter from General Grant to Ills Chic
of St;.n. afterwards His secretary o.
War.
The New York Sun publishes the fol
lowing letter, written by the late Genera
John i. i:,.wiiDs, and addressed TO the
late General u. 5. Grant, dated ''Before
yickshurg, Miss, June 9th, 1868, one
o'clock, u. NJ:
'Dcar General: The great solicitude
feel for the safety OF the army leads nc
to mention that which had hoped never
again 30 .do-the subject OF your drink
ing. I his may surDrise you, for l may
be, (aud trust I ann, doing you an IL
Justice by an unfounded suspicion, but
if an error it better be on the side of his
country 5 safety than Ia lear OF offending
friend. I have heard that DR.. McAlil-
ian, al General Sherman's few days
ago, induced You, notwithstanding your
pledge to me, to take glass OF wine,
and today, when I found a box Of wine
IL front OF your tent and proposed to
move i, wmch Jid, was toid you had
forbid its being taken away, for you had
intended to keep it until you had entered
yicksburg, that you might have it for
your friends; and tonight, when you
Should because OF the condition of your
health, If nothing else, have been IN bed,
/ find You just where the wine bottle
had been .cmptied, IL company with
those who drink and urge you to do
likewise, and the lack, of your usual
prompt2ess OF decision and clearness in
expressing yourself i'll writing tended to
confirm my suspicious. --.-.-.--..
tsYou can have full control of your
appetite AMI let drinking alone. Had
YOU not pledged me the sinceEtv.of your
honor early last March that you would
drink no more during the war, and kept
that pledge during your recent cam
paign, You would not to-day have stood
first in the worlds history rs a success
iuI military leader.
'tYour only salvation depends upon
your strict adherence to that pledge.
You cannot succeed in any other way.
As J. have before stated, | may be wrong
in ny suspicious, but if one sees that
which leads him to suppose sentinel Is
falling asleep on his post it lis his duty to
arouse him; and Il one sees that that
which leads him to fear the general COM
marding a great army is being seduced
to that step which he knows Will bring
disgrace upon that general and defeat to
his command it fails to sound the prop
er note of warning, the friends, wives
and children of those brave men whose
lives he permits to remain thus imperiled
will accuse him while he lives, and stand
swift witnesses Of wrath against him in
the day when all shall be Judged.
''E my suspicious are lmfounded, let
ny friendship for you and my zeal for
my country be my excuse for this letter;
and il they are correctly founded, and
you determine not to need the admoni-
tons and the prayers Of this hasty note
by immediately ceasing to touch single
drop of any kind of liquor, no matter by
whom asked or under what circum-
stances, let my immediate relief from
duty in this department be the result. l
am, General, your friend,
JOIN 4. RAWLINs. "
The retained copy of this letter was
endorsed by General Rawlins as follows:
s'This is an exact copy of a letter given
to the person to whom it IS addressed at
It's date, about four miles from our head
quarters IN the rear Of Vicksburg. It's
admonitions We're needed, and al went
well. JOHN \. RAN.LISs.' %